This article from the New York Times looks at whether or not the Homeland Security Department can keep the Internet safe for surfing. Late last month, as the Blaster worm was emerging, but before it had made headlines, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning. In the warning the department suggested that Internet service providers and other corporate network administrators should shut off several network ports to block the spread of the Blaster infection. Free registration is required to view this article.

IBM alphaWorks is offering for download a suite of plug-ins that improve worker collaboration through instant and broadcast messaging. IBM Software Advisor reports that IBM Community Tools is a messaging client that combines the one-to-many broadcast messaging in IBM MQ Event Broker, including IBM Lotus Sametime’s capabilities, with Web services running on WebSphere Application Server and DB2. The client runs in several partitions on a single iSeries Model 820. Lotus Domino and Sametime run in an OS/400 partition, and MQ Event Broker runs in a Linux Partition.

EUR Systems announced that Lightship Telecom implemented a licensed version of Aptis in order to provide end user bills for the extensive customer base in Lightship’s five-state region each month. Aptis is an end user billing and revenue management solution. Aptis integrates with IBM’s WebSphere, a Java-based application environment for building, deploying, and managing online services such as e-commerce and Web self-care.

Information Week reports that the Sobig.F virus has become the is the fastest email outbreak ever. MessageLabs, which scans email for viruses, said that within 24 hours it had scanned more than one million copies of the virus.

IBM shipped IBM Lotus Workplace for Retail Store Operations. The solution integrates two IBM products — IBM Lotus LMS, an e-training service, and IBM WebSphere Portal — to create a one-stop location for both tutoring employees and providing them with ongoing information through the collaboration features of a customized Web portal.